prc, pdb, pqa - files for the Palm PDA

PRC

PDB

PQA

Palm query applications - a special kind of HTML wrapped up as a Palm application

Many Palm developers deliver their applications as the above file types compressed in a ZIP or SIT file, which are simple to install for Mac users.

Unfortunately web sited like Handango and Palm InfoCenter does not always make the Mac downloads availabele so you may try to google your way to the the web site of the developer who made the application and see if they make Mac friendly downloads.

Some Palm developers have little experience with Mac OS, and they sometimes choose to wrap everything into EXE files, making it less likely to be used from a Mac.

File Juicer is good for searching for stuff in all kinds of files including EXE files. When an EXE file is an installer, it will often use some kind of standard compression for the files it is gong to install, and File Juicer can recognize ZIP, BZ2 and Deflate compression, no matter which type of file it is used inside.

With release 3.9.1 of File Juicer, I have added code to recognize PDB, PRC and PQA files if they are found packed inside an EXE file. Not all EXE files use standard compression, but some of the most common tools do. Check the Inflate, and Zip, cab checkboxes, to enable this search.

If File jucier finds zip files inside the exe file, the zip is saved, and you can unzip it by double clicking on it in Finder.

Extracting files from PRC and PDB files

File Juicer can extract (image, sound, text) files from Palm files too. This could be handy in (unlikely?) emergency situations when even the backup copies held on your Mac, are damaged. The recovery of text, is very rough, unformatted, and not for recreating the original database. You can try to drop your current Palm databases on File Juicer to see what it can find.

Questions and Feedback

I hope this turns out to help in some of the cases where the developer has not thought about Mac users. If File Juicer does not extract the Palm files, I would like to take a closer look at the EXE file, to see if I can do more. Just mail me the file or a link to where I can download it.
It is still a good idea to send a request to the developer to make Mac friendly downloads, as File Juicer will never be able to handle all EXE files, and your only option is to use a real PC or an emulator.